


Subverting Expectation

by Rachello344



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Deathstroke the Terminator (Comics)
Genre: Apprenticeship 2.0, Batfamily Dynamics (DCU), Character Study, Dick Grayson has had enough, Good Parent Alfred Pennyworth, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:54:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28061250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rachello344/pseuds/Rachello344
Summary: Dick Grayson is tired of being the "good" child.  Tired of being the one they all compare themselves to.  Tired of being on a pedestal.  It's Dick's turn to be the family fuck up.
Relationships: Dick Grayson/Slade Wilson
Comments: 18
Kudos: 155





	Subverting Expectation

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this after a fun discussion with my wonderful girlfriend (who loves Slade and Dick more than she loves me, which is saying something lol). I was so inspired, I just had to get this down. Dick Grayson is a very interesting character, and I relate to him a LOT. So this was also maybe a little cathartic. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy. Still working on that Destiel fic, still plugging away at Steter, and I've got a few more Sladick stories in me (that are significantly more explicit than this one lmao)

“Look, I’m just saying, no one’ll ever measure up to Golden Child here, Replacement.” Jason shrugged, indolent, leaning back in his seat. “Not me, not you, and certainly not the Demon Spawn.”

“Well, of course not,” Tim muttered. “Who could?”

“Me,” Damian puffed up, all bluster. “Obviously.”

Dick tapped his finger on the arm of his chair. “Robin was my mother’s nickname for me. So was ‘Boy Wonder,’ for that matter.” The other boys fell silent. He looked up, meeting each of their eyes in turn. The shock there told him everything: Bruce never told them that. “So, hearing you call Tim ‘replacement’ is pretty rich, Jay, since you’re the original replacement and a thief twice over to boot.” First the tires, then Robin.

“Where’s this coming from?” Tim asked carefully. Uncertain. This was new data for Tim, and he didn’t know how to act anymore, wrong-footed and hesitant for it. Jason looked upset, on the way to incensed, always so angry in place of being hurt or vulnerable. Damian simply looked curious and interested, eyes wide.

“Doing some thinking lately,” Dick said, waving a hand. “Jason stole my name and role. Tim, you demanded it of me, and then got pissed at me when I finally made my own decision about who should take on my name.” He stood, ruffling Damian’s hair affectionately. “It’s just... It’s funny, isn’t it?”

“Are you... okay, Goldie?” Jason asked, voice nervous.

Dick snorted. “And then there’s _that_. Goldie, Golden Child.” He turned and faced them. “Do you honestly believe that?”

Their hesitation was clear.

“I’m only human.” His failings flashed through his mind in an endless stream. Every person he couldn’t save, every death on his hands, every single thing that he’d ever done wrong, chosen wrong, and never been punished for. “And I think I’ve had enough of your pedestal.”

He hadn’t entirely realized he’d made a decision, but now that it was made, he was only surprised by how long it had taken him to get there.

“Grayson, what are you talking about?” Damian snapped.

Dick hesitated, frowning. Damian was afraid. Uncertain. “This is on me, Dami. I have something I need to do. Unfinished business, you might say.” Dick turned and headed to the door, grateful he’d been planning on leaving tonight anyway.

“Where are you going, Dick?”

“Be good while I’m away,” Dick said in lieu of answering. Bruce always got to be the cryptic one. Jason was the fuck up. Tim got to be selfish. Damian was reckless. His turn now. “I love you guys,” he reminded them, shooting them a smile over his shoulder.

They were all too stunned to stop him, even Damian.

When he was heading down the stairs, Alfred pulled him into a hug. Dick startled.

“Forgive the liberty, Master Dick,” he said, voice soft and gentle. “But I know a long good bye when I hear one. Be careful, whatever you’re doing, and come home safe.” Alfred pulled back and cupped his cheek, eyes warm. “You will always have a home here. No matter what you assume Master Bruce will think, you will _always_ have a home with _me_.”

Dick threw his arms around Alfred, holding tightly. His determination faltered, but he knew he would never be at peace until he saw this through.

“Thank you, Al.” He pulled away. “I’ll do my best for you, but I can’t make you any promises. And can you... Can you tell Bruce good bye?”

“I will, of course,” Alfred said. He looked fond, but nervous. That was probably fair. “Safe travels, Master Dick. Godspeed.”

Dick turned away before he could change his mind and let himself out. His bike was already packed and ready to go. Once he put his helmet on, he started it up, sparing one final glance to his childhood home. Alfred stood at the front door, and his brothers stood at the window on the floor above, all watching him leave.

He gave a brief wave before kicking off. When he was down the drive, he stopped to make a call. He only hoped the number hadn’t changed.

“Who are you, and how’d you get this number?”

“Slade, it’s Dick.” Dick leaned on his handlebars. “Are you still in the market for an apprentice?”

“That depends,” Slade said slowly, considering. “Are you offering?”

“Yeah,” Dick said. “I’m offering.”

* * *

“I need to know why,” Slade said as Dick sat down across from him. They were in some dive bar near one of Slade’s safe houses. “What’s your plan this time? What’s your angle?”

Dick shook his head. “No angle. I’m...” He sighed. How best to explain himself... “You once told me that you thought I had potential, that you thought I could be great.” Dick turned his glass in his hand. “I’m sick of the expectations people have of me, and I want to know what it feels like on the other side. I want to know if I really could be great by your metric.”

Slade’s eyebrows rose. “Your family really must have pissed you off. Be honest, was it the Demon Spawn?”

Dick rolled his eyes. “No, actually. It was the other two.”

“How far do you intend to take this, Dick? You know what I do for a living.”

Dick looked down at his hands. That was the question. “I... Can you meet me in the middle?”

“Where’s the middle?”

“I won’t kill innocents.”

Slade leaned forward. “But you’re seriously considering killing?”

Dick took a breath. Nodded. “I need to know. And... I don’t trust you, but I do _know_ you.”

“Okay.” Slade finished his drink and pushed to his feet. “I’ll train you. And we’ll finally see just what you’re capable of. I won’t take on any contracts on innocents for the duration.” His eye glittered. “I’m not going to go easy on you, you know.”

“I know,” Dick said, smiling ruefully. “I’m counting on it.”

“Well then, pretty bird,” Slade smiled. “Let’s get to work.”


End file.
